A rigid, hinged-lid cigarette packet normally comprises a cup-shaped bottom container having an open top end; and a cup-shaped top lid hinged to the bottom container along a hinge to rotate, with respect to the bottom container, between an open position and a closed position respectively opening and closing the open end of the bottom container. When the lid is in the closed position, the packet is substantially parallelepiped-shaped, and comprises two, respectively top and bottom, end walls; a lateral surface bounded by the end walls and defined by two major lateral walls and two minor lateral walls; four longitudinal edges, each defined between a major lateral wall and a minor lateral wall; four major transverse edges, each defined between an end wall and a major lateral wall; and four minor transverse edges, each defined between an end wall and a minor lateral wall. The lid hinge is normally formed on a major lateral wall, and is parallel to the major transverse edges. This is by far the most widely marketed configuration, and therefore the one for which most packing machines for producing rigid packets of cigarettes are designed.
Rigid, hinged-lid cigarette packets have also been proposed, in which the lid hinge is formed on a minor lateral wall or on the top end wall, and is parallel to the minor transverse edges. Though not widely marketed, this configuration nevertheless appears to be popular with consumers. Known packets with the lid hinge parallel to the minor transverse edges, e.g. as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,280 A1, WO-9935056-A1, U.S. Pat. No. 2,848,153 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,338 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 2,944,726, and DE-2940421-A1, however, must be produced on specially designed packing machines, or involve major alterations to existing packing machines designed to produce rigid packets of cigarettes with the hinge lid parallel to the major transverse edges.